What To Do With Grass Clippings
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Frequent mowing is a vital part of your lawn care routine that keeps your lawn looking great and creates the optimal environment for enjoying your outdoor living spaces. However, all that mowing creates a lot of clippings and you may wonder how to dispose of them. Luckily, grass clippings have many uses in your lawn and other areas of your property. You can leave them on the lawn for their fertilization properties or bag them up and recycle them in your garden or compost pile.
Recycling grass clippings can help you reduce fertilizer costs and improve your landscape health. Use our guide to learn when to leave clippings on the lawn, how to compost them, and how to use them as mulch.
Benefits of Leaving Grass Clippings on the Lawn
While many mowers are equipped with a bag to catch grass clippings while you mow, removing grass clippings from your lawn isn’t a necessary part of lawn maintenance. There are actually many benefits to leaving grass clippings that are an inch or less in length on your lawn after mowing.
Grass clippings are a good source of nutrients for growing grass. They’re high in nitrogen, allowing you to reduce the amount of fertilizer you need for a healthy lawn. When you use grass clippings in areas with sandy soil or heavy clay, the organic matter from the decomposing grass can help improve your soil quality.
Although many homeowners resist recycling grass clippings on their lawns because of concerns about thatch buildup, cut grass isn’t a significant contributor to thatch. You shouldn’t leave overly long and very wet grass clippings or those cut from disease-infested turfgrass on your lawn. But in most cases, regular mowing and recycling clippings back to the lawn will lead to a healthier, greener lawn over time.
How To Compost Grass Clippings
Composting with grass clippings involves using them as green matter and mixing them with brown matter like leaves and twigs. Since grass clippings have a high nitrogen content and decompose quickly, they’re excellent additions to a compost pile.
Follow these steps to compost your grass clippings:
- Gather grass: If your lawnmower doesn’t automatically capture grass in an attached bag, you can rake it into a pile and bag it yourself.
- Layer grass clippings with brown compost materials: Begin your pile with a layer of coarse plant materials such as twigs and branches. Add a layer of fine plant materials including grass clippings and brown matter like leaves. Top the second layer with an inch of soil. Repeat layers as you generate more organic materials to compost.
- Create adequate moisture and hydration: A compost pile should be moist but not soggy. Add moisture to your pile as needed to keep the contents slightly moist. Turn the pile regularly with a pitchfork to distribute heat and moisture evenly.
- Monitor the temperature: Using a compost thermometer, check the temperature of your pile frequently. The temperature should be between 135–160 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature drops below the optimal range, add more green matter to bring the temperature back up.
- Wait for the compost to mature: Compost matures over a period of several weeks or months. When the compost is dark brown and has an earthy smell, you can spread it around your garden beds or mix it into the soil. to grow if you don’t address the environmental conditions that encourage their growth.
Compost Bin Options
There are a few different receptacles you can use to create a compost pile with grass clippings and other materials:
- Enclosed bins: Various compost bins provide an ideal environment for organic materials to compost. Some include lids, which can be useful if you live in a rainy climate.
- Open piles: The easiest and most cost-effective way to pile compost is to forego the container and use an open pile. However, this doesn’t maximize space for small properties.
- Tumbling composters: These containers make turning easy because you can flip or crank them for aeration. They eliminate the need for a pitchfork and can be used on a patio or in a garage.
Compost Troubleshooting
Composting is the process of decomposing organic matter. Since you’ll be working in uncontrolled conditions and depending on the work of microorganisms, the process won’t always go perfectly. The following tips can help you troubleshoot common issues:
- Odors: Insufficient oxygen might cause rotten smells, while too much green matter can produce an ammonia smell. Turning the pile can introduce air and vaporize ammonia. If the problem persists, add extra materials as necessary to correct it.
- Pests: Animals often visit compost piles in search of food scraps. Bury kitchen scraps when you add them, or use a lid to keep unwanted critters out.
- Slow decomposition: A lack of nitrogen can lead to slow decomposition. To fix this, add more nitrogen-rich materials like grass clippings.
Using Grass Clippings as Mulch
You can use grass clippings as mulch in garden beds and vegetable gardens or around trees and shrubs. This method of grass recycling can help you suppress weeds, retain moisture, avoid decreased nitrogen levels caused by woody mulches, and regulate soil temperature. There are a few different grass mulching techniques you can use.
Understanding the potential complications when using grass clippings as mulch can help you avoid issues. For example, avoiding thick layers and using wet clippings reduces the likelihood of anaerobic decomposition or offensive odors.
Mulching Techniques
You can use grass clippings alone or with other materials as mulch. You can use any of the following common techniques to maintain a healthy mulch layer while avoiding potential issues:
- Mixing clippings with other organic materials: You can mix grass clippings with other organic materials like dried leaves or wood chips to create a balanced mulch mixture that breaks down more slowly than grass mulch alone.
- Spreading clippings evenly over soil surface: If you cut grass with a sharp mower blade, you can spread the resulting dry grass clippings in an even layer of 1–2 inches over the soil in gardens and around trees. If clippings get matted together, break up clumps to avoid aeration and drainage issues.
- Using a mulching mower to finely chop clippings before application: Finely chopped grass clippings are less likely to form clumps and mats. Using a mulching mower can help you create a finer mulch for easy spreading.
Grass Clipping Mulch vs. Other Mulches
While grass clippings are a great option for mulching, they’re not ideal for every situation. Compare grass to common alternatives to decide which option is best for you:
- Bark: Bark mulch can be composed of bark chips of varying sizes, from thick chunks to fine particles. Bark provides adequate coverage to eliminate weed growth but breaks down rather quickly during the summer months.
- Straw: Straw mulch is made from dried stalks. It’s good for preventing grass seed from washing away, and it helps slow down weed growth, but it’s less effective against weeds than finer mulch varieties.
- Wood chips: Evenly shredded branches and tree bark create wood chip mulch, which is ideal for weed suppression and surface coverage over large areas. Wood chips also add organic matter to soil over time, but they break down quickly, requiring frequent replenishment.
Grass clipping mulch offers many of the same benefits as other mulches, including moisture retention and weed growth suppression. Grass clippings are also nitrogen-rich and provide essential nutrients to the soil as they break down. However, grass clippings used on their own thin out more quickly than other mulch types. That’s why it’s best to use grass clippings in smaller areas or combined with other mulch materials, but you can use grass clippings on their own if you have enough to replenish them often.
When To Bag and Dispose of Grass Clippings
While grass clippings are ideal for recycling in several different ways, there are certain situations in which you should bag and dispose of them. Shorter grass clippings work best for recycling in your lawn or as mulch. It’s best to compost healthy grass clippings that are more than an inch long or shred them with a mulching mower for accurate mulching consistency.
In some cases, disposing of clippings entirely is the best option. For example, you should get rid of clippings if your lawn is heavily infested with diseases to avoid spreading and increasing the severity of lawn disease. Pesticides are another reason to consider disposing of grass clippings. If you recently treated your lawn with a pesticide or herbicide, you should avoid using your clippings in mulch or compost because the products may harm other plants.
However, many states no longer allow you to put yard waste in the garbage because it contributes to landfill waste, so recycling may be the best option for getting rid of bagged grass. You can leave grass that you’ve treated with herbicides on your lawn. It’s best not to use diseased grass on your lawn or garden, but you can safely use it in compost piles. If you don’t compost, inquire about a community compost collection where you can donate your clippings.
Our Conclusion
There’s no reason to consider grass clippings as yard waste when they provide so many benefits for your lawn and garden. Leaving the clippings to decompose in your lawn eliminates work and helps you cut fertilizer costs by returning valuable nutrients to the soil. You can also use grass clippings in compost and for mulch. Experiment with different grass recycling methods to determine which works best for you. When bagging and disposal are necessary, make sure to check local ordinances to ensure you dispose of yard waste properly.
FAQ About Lawn Clippings
Is it better to leave grass clippings on the lawn or bag them?
The length of your grass clippings will determine whether you should leave them on the lawn or bag them. You can leave an inch or less of grass clippings on your lawn, but you should remove longer clippings. You should also remove grass clippings if your lawn is infested with disease.
How often should I mow my lawn to minimize grass clippings?
You should consider mowing weekly to minimize grass clippings. Frequent mowing results in shorter clippings that will nourish your lawn without smothering it.
Can I compost grass clippings with other yard waste?
Yes, you can compost grass clippings with other yard waste. Grass clippings are excellent for compost piles because of their high nitrogen content. However, they should not be your only compost material because they can leave bad odors as they decompose.
How thick should I apply grass-clipping mulch in my garden?
You should apply grass-clipping mulch in thin layers up to an inch thick in your garden. Layering grass clippings too thick makes it difficult for them to dry and interferes with the breakdown process.
What should I do with grass clippings from a lawn treated with herbicides?
What you can do with grass clippings that you have treated with herbicides depends on the products you use. Consult the herbicide product label for any concerns related to using clippings as mulch.
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